The global hair wig and extension market was valued at $7.5billion in 2024. Hair is big business - especially in India, which is the world’s biggest exporter of human hair, supplying 85% of global demand. Some comes from temples, where people shave off their hair as an act of devotion to the gods. It is then sold at auction. The rest comes from hair pickers who collect it from women’s combs, salons and even rubbish dumps.

Priti Gupta, a journalist in Mumbai, talks us through the Indian hair industry. We ask why Indian hair is so sought after - and why it’s China that’s leading the wig export market, instead of India.

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